Driving Retail Sales

HME providers who want to expand their cash sales would do well to look at adding vehicle lifts to their product mix, experts say.

“Given the challenges facing the industry, specifically with competitive bidding, we've seen a shift by providers to add a complement of retail-related products. For those providers, [vehicle lifts] can be a very rewarding category to participate in,” notes Cy Corgan, Pride Mobility Products' national sales director of retail mobility.

Providers are gravitating to these products because they are one of the top cash-selling items in the industry, as well as at the top of customers' “I need” lists, explains Sarah Penix, business development manager for Harmar Mobility.

“We're seeing a lot of people get on board the cash sales train,” she says. “Reimbursables used to be the core part of what [providers] focused on, but the industry has forced them to turn to cash sales to stay in business.

“It couldn't have come at a better time,” she points out. “The industry and world is changing. The baby boomers are coming to an age where they need these products.”

Penix says she has heard from a number of providers who have started selling lifts after having to turn away customers who requested them.

“We see an actual need that is increasing dramatically, and that is going to increase cash sales for dealers,” she says.

And with the population aging and more income at baby boomers' disposal, the market “can go nowhere but up and forward,” adds Mike Krawczyk, marketing manager for Bruno Independent Living Aids.

Matching Needs to Products

But it takes more than simply putting the products in the company inventory. Successful vehicle lift providers will train their sales employees to match the needs and abilities of the customer with the right product, Krawczyk says.

Some lifts will depend on a user's ability to stand and be able to work a switch, while others do not, he explains.

“Do they need a lift that does everything for them, or one that requires some manual operation that is a little less expensive?” Penix questions. For example, she says, “If it's a little less expensive, but [the user] can't manually fold the platform, it doesn't do them any good.”

The provider also should talk to a vehicle lift customer or caregiver about how a particular health condition might affect their abilities in the future, Krawczyk says.